Civil Servants

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of each civil service grade in his Department is located in each (a) region and (b) nation of the UK; what the average salary is for each grade; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: My hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office will write to the hon. Member with details for the civil service of the percentage of staff in post by region and grade responsibility and the median salary of staff in post by region and grade responsibility as at 1 April 2004. Copies of his letter will be placed in the Library.

Road Projects

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list road improvement projects which are behind schedule; and what the reasons are in each case.

Stephen Ladyman: The Highways Agency has 17 major projects either currently on site, or which have received approval to proceed to construction. 15 of these are on schedule, in line with the timetable planned at approval to proceed to construction stage, and two are behind schedule.
	The schemes behind schedule are the A14 Rookery Crossroads Grade Separated Junction and the M1 J6A-10 Widening. In the case of A14 Rookery Crossroads, the original completion date of mid December has slipped due to the complexity of the traffic management arrangements during the scheme construction. With the Ml J6A-10 Widening a review of the costs and agreement of a target cost with the appointed contractor has taken longer than anticipated, delaying the full start of works. Advance works have, however, commenced on schedule.
	For local highway schemes, delivery timescales and the reasons for any slippage, are a matter for the promoting local authority.

Transport Demand Research

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research he has (a) conducted and (b) evaluated on the relationship between economic growth and (i) rail passenger demand, (ii) demand for air travel and (iii) road investment programmes; and if he will make a statement.

Karen Buck: The Department has not conducted or evaluated specific research into the relationship between economic growth and rail passenger demand as estimates are made by the rail industry. These estimates are, however, used in the Department's National Transport Model, information on which can be found on the DfT website at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_econappr/documents/page/dft_econappr_610556.pdf
	In May 2000, the Department published "Air Traffic Forecasts for the United Kingdom 2000". This internal piece of work provided forecasts over the period to 2020 and used econometric methods to assess the contribution of factors, including economic growth, to determine air traffic growth. This can be found at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_aviation/documents/page/dft_aviation_503314–01.hcsp#P38_1015
	In 1996 the Standing Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Appraisal (SACTRA) was asked by the then Secretary of State for Transport to consider the effects on the performance of the economy which might be caused by transport projects and policies, including new infrastructure, changing prices, demand management and measures to reduce traffic. This report can be found at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_econappr/documents/page/dft_econappr_610277.hcsp

Transport Expenditure

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on (a) road works and (b) (i) road resurfacing and (ii) resurfacing noisy concrete road surfaces in each region since May 2002; and what projections his Department has for spending on each category of expenditure in each region over the next three years.

Stephen Ladyman: The Highways Agency is responsible for highway maintenance on the strategic road network in England.
	The Highways Agency's expenditure on road maintenance since 2002–03 is set out in the following table. They do not routinely record this information by region. The expenditure on renewal of roads is also shown in the table. Road resurfacing work is contained within the budget for renewal of roads which also funds other expenditure such as street lighting, drainage and safety fencing.
	
		
			 £ million 
			  Outturn Budget 
			 Funding category 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 
		
		
			 Maintenance 796 726 732 827 
			 of which: 
			 Renewal of roads 280 254 285 341 
			 Resurfacing of concrete roads 50 78 34 (2)29 
		
	
	(2) year to date
	Note:
	Forecasts for future years are not available
	A separate regional analysis of historic expenditure on resurfacing concrete roads with quieter surfacing has been carried out, and is set out in the following table. The amounts vary between region and from year-to-year, depending on the specific projects which have been identified for resurfacing due to a safety or maintenance need.
	
		
			 Region Expenditure (£ million) 
		
		
			 2002–03  
			 North 2 
			 East 20 
			 South East 26 
			 South West 2 
			   
			 2003–04  
			 North 4 
			 East 46 
			 South East 8 
			 East Midlands 4 
			 West Midlands 7 
			 South West 9 
			   
			 2004–05  
			 East 17 
			 South East 4 
			 East Midlands 8 
			 South West 5 
			   
			 2005–061  
			 North 7 
			 East Midlands 4 
			 South East 17 
			 South West 1 
		
	
	(3) year to date
	Highway maintenance on local roads in England is the responsibility of each local highways authority. My Department provides funding to local authorities in England and outside London for capital highway maintenance through the local transport settlement. The funding made since 2002 is shown as follows.
	
		
			  £ million 
			 Capital maintenance 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 
		
		
			 North East 36.120 35.878 47.095 44.170 44.165 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 68.038 67.848 85.425 76.588 84.625 
			 West Midlands 65.552 66.545 75.357 82.105 82.908 
			 East Midlands 61.427 62.463 68.918 65.178 68.380 
			 Eastern 73.293 69.601 83.947 91.119 87.856 
			 South West 82.343 83.194 96.103 107.685 116.804 
			 South East 79.986 91.599 100.533 105.008 102.315 
			 North West 92.085 88.872 93.059 88.144 84.819 
			 Total 558.844 566.000 650.437 659.997 671.872 
		
	
	Indicative allocations for capital maintenance by local authority and region for the period 2006–07 to 2010–11 were published in December 2004. These can be found on the Department's website www.dft.gov.uk in the document entitled "Provisional Planning Guidelines for Local Transport Capital: 2006–07 to 2010–11".
	Funding for local authority capital highway maintenance is not ring fenced. It is for the local authorities to decide how such funding is spent in line with their priorities, across the whole range of services that they provide.
	In addition, revenue provision is made to local authorities in England but outside London, by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for highway maintenance through the local authorities' Formula for Standard Spending (FSS). ODPM publish information on local authority outturn expenditure annually, including data on highway maintenance. Information for 2002–03 and 2003–04 can be found on the ODPM website www.local.odpm.gov.uk. Information on later years has not yet been published.
	Highway maintenance funding in London is the responsibility of the London Mayor.

Transport Innovation Fund

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the Transport Innovation Fund.

Karen Buck: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport on 26 January 2006, Official Report, columns 66–67WS, and the paper "Transport Innovation Fund: Guidance—January 2006" published on that date.

Adult Guidance Provision

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the change in the burden of administration on adult guidance providers since the Learning and Skills Council was established.

Phil Hope: Information, advice and guidance services on learning and work for adults are delivered by the Learning and Skills Council primarily through an integrated information and advice service comprising the national learndirect telephone and online advice service, and 47 local nextstep information and advice providers. In addition, adults participating in any LSC funded learning can access information and advice services through their learning provider. The administration of the service is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council, and is managed and overseen by Mark Haysom the LSC's chief executive. Mark Haysom has written to the hon. Member in response to this question and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 24 January 2006
	I write in response to your recent Parliamentary Question regarding assessment of the change in the burden of administration on adult guidance providers since the Learning and Skills Council was established?
	Since the introduction of the "nextstep" service in 2004, the LSC has reduced the administrative burden on providers of adult Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) services by:
	Publishing an annual delivery specification setting out the programme requirements and complimenting this with a single planning template
	Agreeing with the IAG delivery sector, a national customer record that captures core data for the national nextstep service and which is capable of being customised for local European Social Fund funded guidance provision
	Introducing a standardised monthly management upload process for customer data associated with the core nextstep contract
	Before these changes were implemented, consultation was undertaken with a representative of the then Bureaucracy Review Group to ensure their appropriateness. Feedback from our regional IAG working group indicates that the changes have been well received and have had a significant impact on the quality and availability of management information on services provided.

Drop-out Rates

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average drop out rate at universities was in the last period for which figures are available; what the total cost of courses taken but unfinished was in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Information on projected non-completion rates for higher education students is published annually by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) in "Performance Indicators in Higher Education". The latest figures are given in the table.
	
		UK domiciled full-time first degree starters at English Higher Education Institutions who were projected to neither obtain an award nor transfer to another institution
		
			 Year of entry Percentage 
		
		
			 1998–99 15.8 
			 1999–2000 15.9 
			 2000–01 15.0 
			 2001–02 13.8 
			 2002–03 13.9 
		
	
	Source:
	'Performance Indicators in Higher Education'
	The figures requested for the total cost of courses taken but unfinished are not available centrally.

Nurseries

Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance she has issued to local education authorities on the replacement of nursery schools with nursery classes.

Beverley Hughes: None. However, we continue to make clear to local authorities that maintained nursery schools have a vital role to play in taking forward our agenda for families and children and should not be closed unless there are exceptional grounds for doing so.
	Local school organisation committees, who make decisions on school organisations, must have regard to "the presumption against closure" provisions included in the statutory guidance on school organisation. This states that decisions to close a maintained nursery school must take account of: the quantity, quality, value for money and convenience to parents and the proposed replacement provision; the impact of the potential loss of the nursery school's experience and knowledge and alternatives to closure.

Schools (Newcastle-upon-Tyne)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the percentage of each cohort who failed to achieve level four at key stage two in each school in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Jacqui Smith: The figures for the performance of pupils in schools in Newcastle-upon-Tyne are published as part of the Key Stage 2 Achievement and Attainment Tables each year. These are available on the Department's website at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/performancetables/. The information is also available in the House Library.
	Primary standards in English and mathematics are continuing to improve. Since 1997, the proportion of 11-year-olds achieving the target Level 4 and above as measured by the Key Stage 2 National Curriculum tests has increased by 16 percentage points to 79 per cent. in English and by 13 percentage points to 75 per cent. in mathematics. In Newcastle-upon-Tyne the proportion achieving the target Level 4 and above has increased by more than the national rate of improvement (up by 21 percentage points since 1997 to 72 per cent. in English and by 18 percentage points to 69 per cent. in mathematics).
	The Government have set a national public service agreement target for 2008 to reduce by 40 per cent., the number of schools in which fewer than 65 per cent. of pupils achieve Level 4 or above in English and Level 4 in mathematics. Good progress has been made towards achieving this target. Compared with 2003 (baseline year), there has been an overall reduction of 34 per cent. (978 schools) in the number of schools achieving below 65 per cent. in English and 22 per cent. (770 schools) in the number of schools achieving below this level in mathematics.
	In Newcastle-upon-Tyne there are 23 schools where fewer than 65 per cent. of pupils achieved Level 4 and above in English in 2005, compared with 29 schools in 2003. In mathematics, 26 schools achieved results below 65 per cent. in 2005 compared with 29 schools in 2003.

Africa

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what presentations were undertaken by the Commission for Africa in the run-up to the G8 summit; in which country each presentation took place; and what the date was of each presentation.

Hilary Benn: Following the launch of the Commission for Africa report on 11 March 2005, the Commission undertook a four month series of presentations leading up to the G8 summit at Gleneagles. This included regional events in Africa as well as G8 countries. More than 45 presentations were made in over 20 countries. Audiences included the African Union (AU) NEPAD, governments, private sector and civil society. Listed as follows is a list of key presentations made by the Commission during this period.
	March
	Commission for Africa Launch events, London, UK and Addis Ababa, Ethipopia 11 March
	Africa 2015, BBC conference, London, UK 18 March
	April
	Shell Business Action for Africa, London, UK 5 April
	Africa Partners Forum, Abuja, Nigeria, 9–10 April
	Commission for Africa outreach seminar, Washington, 15 April
	World Bank/IMF spring meeting, presentations in the margins, 16–17 April
	NEPAD Heads of Government, Egypt, 17–19 April
	Senegal development week, Senegal, 18–19 April
	Nelson Mandela Thinkers Forum, Nairobi, Kenya, 21–22 April
	Canadian Council for Africa Conference, "Unleashing Finance and infrastructure in Africa", Toronto, Canada, 23–25 April
	May
	African Union, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2 May
	"New strategic inputs on European investments in development aid", Hearing at the European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium, 3 May
	African Media Development Facility Meeting, Dakar, Senegal, 4 May
	G8/NEPAD summit on the Implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Plan (CAADP), Accra, Ghana, 5–6 May
	"Our Common Interest: supporting Africa's resurgence", London School of Economics, London, UK, 9 May
	Spanish Foreign Ministry, Tenerife, 11 May
	Commission for Africa Outreach Seminar, Lagos, 12–13 May
	Economic Commission for Africa, Thirty-eighth session of the Commission/Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Abuja, Nigeria, 14–15 May
	Scottish Executive, Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, 16 May
	US Senate, Foreign Relations Committee Hearing, Washington, USA, 17 May
	"The Commission for Africa: Implementing the Findings", Wilton Park Conference, UK, 16–20 May
	African Development Bank Annual Meeting, Abuja, 18–19 May
	World Health Assembly, World Health Organisation, Geneva, 19 May
	African Youth Foundation, Bonn, Germany, 19–24 May
	"Engaging Nigerians in the Commission for Africa", Nigerians in Diaspora Organisations Europe (NIDOE) Seminar, London, UK, 20 May
	"Security, Development and Human Rights: Shaping the Emerging International Doctrine", Ditchley Park Conference, UK, 20–21 May
	"Increased Aid Flows and the Control of Corruption", Transparency International seminar, London, UK, 23 May
	Nelson Mandela Thinkers Forum, Maputo, Mozambique, 23–24 May
	National Assembly of Wales, Cardiff, UK, 24 May 2005
	British Embassy, Rome, Italy, 26 May
	Institute of African Studies, Moscow, Russia, 26 May
	'Africa: our common interest', workshop by Aspen Institute Italia Campidoglio, Rome, Italy, 27 May
	African Development Bank, Tunis, 27 May
	"A masterplan for Africa—a big solution?", Kirchentag (Protestant Church Convention, Hanover, Germany, 28 May
	Commission for Africa Outreach Seminar, Algiers, 28–29 May
	Commission for Africa Outreach Seminar, Nairobi, Nigeria, 30–31 May
	Commission for Africa Outreach Seminar, Johannesburg, South Africa, 30–31 May
	"Challenges of Africa", UNESCO, Annual Strategic Conference, Paris, France, 31 May-1 June,
	June
	World Economic Forum Africa Economic Summit, Cape Town, South Africa, 1–3 June
	Nigeria Economic Summit, Abuja, Nigeria, 1 June
	G8 International Parliamentarians' Conference on Development in Africa, Edinburgh, UK, 6–7 June
	African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) East African Civil Society workshop, Nairobi, Kenya, 6–7 June
	Commission for Africa Outreach Seminar for Central Africa, Yaounde, Cameroon, from 7–8 June
	Tanzanian Parliament, Tanzania, 9 June
	"Making Poverty History: Achieving effective delivery of the development agenda", Price Waterhouse International Development Conference, London, UK, 9 June
	"Embattled or Empowered Africa: Our Common Interest", Institut Royal des Relations Internationales/ Koninklijk Instituut voor Internationale betrekkingen (irri-kiib), Brussels, 14 June
	Commission for Africa Southern Africa Regional Consultation, City of Tshwane, South Africa, 14–15 June
	"Meeting Global Development Challenges: Ireland's White Paper on Development Aid", Conference at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, 15 June
	Development Co-operation Ireland (DCI), Dublin, Ireland, 16 June
	Northern Ireland Assembly, Belfast, UK, 17 June
	Nelson Mandela Thinkers Forum, Dakar, Senegal, 21–22 June
	Corporate Council for Africa US Africa Business Summit, Baltimore, USA, 21–24 June
	UN High Level Dialogue on Financing for Development, New York, USA, 27–28 June
	National Conference on the Commission for Africa, Sierra Leone, 28 June
	Africa-Europe Group for Interdisciplinary Studies (AEGIS), European Conference of African Studies, London, UK 30 June
	July
	African Union Summit, Libya, 4–5 July
	Business Action For Africa, London, UK, 5–6 July
	G8 Summit, Gleneagles, UK, 6–8 July

Consultants

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the contracts let by his Department to external consultants that were subsequently sub-let in each of the past five years; and what the value was of each (a) original and (b) sub-let contract.

Hilary Benn: The Department for international development (DFID) welcomes consortia and sub-contracting arrangements. However, no business has been sub-contracted in its entirety subsequent to the issue of contract.

Departmental Expenditure

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the annual expenditure on (a) fixture and fittings, (b) general office expenses and (c) office equipment was of his Department in (i) Wales and (ii) each English region in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005–06 in each case.

Peter Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs (Bridget Prentice) on 23 January 2006, Official Report, column 1834W.

Local Government

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to his answer of 30 November 2005, Official Report, column 532W, on Local Government Act, whether local authorities, with particular reference to council tax collection departments, incurred costs because of the implementation of section 77 of the Act.

Peter Hain: The Welsh Assembly Government's proposals for revaluation and rebanding were set out in its policy statement "Freedom and Responsibility in Local Government" and were implemented in agreement with local authorities and the Welsh Local Government Association. The WLGA did not identify any additional financial pressures as a consequence of revaluation—costs were met from within existing resources.

Manufacturing

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the (a) First Minister and (b) Welsh Assembly Government on support for the manufacturing industry in Wales.

Peter Hain: I regularly meet the First Minister and discuss a range of issues including support for manufacturing in Wales. My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Nick Ainger) has similar meetings with Welsh Assembly Government Ministers.
	Both the UK Government and the Welsh Assembly Government recognise that manufacturing remains vital to the Welsh economy, accounting for 19 per cent. of GVA—proportionally higher than the UK as a whole.
	The UK Government are working in partnership with industry, trade unions regional development agencies and other stakeholders to deliver the Manufacturing Strategy launched in May 2002 and reviewed in 2004, to secure a long-term future for manufacturing.
	The Assembly and its agencies provide a range of support to Welsh manufacturers. These include financial assistance, business advice, promoting innovation, for example the Technium programme, and initiatives to improve skills and promote entrepreneurship.
	The Assembly works directly with the sector through the manufacturing task and finish group. The Assembly's Economic Development Minister announced at the Wales TUC manufacturing conference last October that there will be a Welsh manufacturing forum represented by a cross section from the sector, and is consulting on the detail. This initiative has been well received by the manufacturing sector in Wales.

Departmental Conferences

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2006, Official Report, column 1245 on departmental conferences, what is his Department's definition of the marketing mix; and how much his Department spent on marketing in each year since 1997.

Alan Johnson: The communication specialists at DTI adopt an industry accepted definition of the marketing mix which can include direct mail, paid-for advertising, use of non-news media and promotional items. When marketing strategies are developed, a strong emphasis is placed on the desired outcomes and this influences what parts of the marketing mix are used.
	The then Secretary of State for Trade and Industry provided the following responses:
	14 January 2004 "My Department's expenditure on advertising through the Central Office of Information in 1997–98 amounted to £2,504,885 excluding VAT and subsequent COI rebates. Records of expenditure on other information campaigns are not held centrally."
	21 January 2004 "For expenditure on advertising by my Department through COI from 1995–96 to 2000–01.I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Twickenham on 20 November 2001, Official Report, column 162W. Expenditure for 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2003–04 (to date) was £6,610,240, £13,741,906 and £2,044,497 respectively. These figures include advertising by the Small Business Service and exclude VAT."
	Information on publicity expenditure from centrally held budgets is contained in the Government's Expenditure Plans and, more recently, the DTI's annual Departmental Report, which are available in the Libraries of the House. Figures relating to other information campaigns, and information on publicity and advertising by NDPBs, are not held centrally and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

Special Advisers

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the special advisers in post in his Department, broken down by pay band; and what the total budgeted cost to his Department of special advisers is for 2005–06.

Alan Johnson: Since 2003, the Government have published on an annual basis the names and overall cost of special advisers and the number in each payband. For the most recent information I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister on 21 July 2005, Official Report, 158–62WS.
	Information on the numbers of special advisers prior to 2003 was provided at regular intervals and this information will be available in the Libraries of the House.
	Information relating to costs for 2005–06 will be published after the end of the current financial year.

Dungiven Castle

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) environmental and (b) historical protection there is against inappropriate developments adjacent to Dungiven castle, County Londonderry.

Angela Smith: Dungiven castle is a Grade B1 listed building. It is listed under Article 42 of the Planning (NI) Order 1991. Both the castle and its setting are protected from inappropriate works under this Order and Planning Policy Statement 6 (PPS 6) "Planning Archaeology and the Built Heritage". The Draft Northern Area Plan, published May 2005 is also a material consideration in determining planning applications and affords protection to the castle and its surrounding area by two designations. The first is as a Local Landscape Policy Area. This seeks to prevent proposals liable to adversely affect features that contribute to the environmental quality, integrity or character of the area. The second is as an Area of Archaeological Potential. This highlights, for prospective developers, areas where it is likely that archaeological remains will be encountered in the course of development. Where remains are found, PPS 6 provides policies for their safeguarding and management. The Castle Environmental Park is a major area of existing open space which is protected by another Planning Policy (Statement 8 Open Space and Recreation). A small part of this park is within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
	There is a scheduled archaeological site and monument located to the south east of the castle which is also afforded protection under PPS 6.

Early Retirement

David Davies: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many departmental employees have taken early retirement due to ill-health in each of the past five years for which figures are available.

Jim Fitzpatrick: During the last five years there have been less than five ill-health retirements in any one year.
	Following guidance on data protection, we can not provide further detailed analysis on these figures.

Regional Spatial Strategy

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will review the Regional Spatial Strategy for the East of England with reference to the merits of establishing a Stansted-Cambridge-Peterborough growth corridor.

Yvette Cooper: The growth potential of the London-Stansted-Cambridge area was identified as part of the previous Regional Planning Guidance for the wider South East in 2001. The Sustainable Communities Plan, "Sustainable Communities: Building for the Future", published February 2003, established the London-Stansted-Cambridge growth area, and it was extended to cover Peterborough in January 2004.
	The draft East of England Regional Spatial Strategy was published by the East of England Regional Assembly in December 2004. Following public consultation, the draft Plan is currently subject to Examination in Public by an independent panel. Once Government receives the panel's report it will consider the recommendations, including any relating to the London-Stansted-Cambridge-Peterborough growth area.

Climate Change Levy

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library the studies of the impact of the climate change levy produced by the Government Economic Service.

John Healey: The Government commissioned Cambridge Econometrics to carry out an independent evaluation of the climate change levy. Copies of the evaluation, "modelling the initial effects of the climate change levy" were published at Budget 2005, are available in the House of Commons Library and on www.hmrc.gov.uk. and its main findings are summarised in chapter 7 of the PBR 2005 report.

Climate Change Levy

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Government's assessment is of the impact of the climate change levy on carbon emissions; and how much of this impact it estimates is attributable to (a) the price effect and (b) other effects consequent upon its introduction.

John Healey: The Government commissioned Cambridge Econometrics to carry out an independent evaluation of the Climate Change Levy (CCL). This evaluation, "Modelling the initial effects of the climate change levy", concluded that the levy is effective and should save over 3.5 million tonnes of carbon per annum by 2010. In particular, Cambridge Econometrics concluded that the announcement effect of CCL in Budget 1999 will, in combination with the price effect, have reduced energy demand in the commerce and public sector by 14.6 per cent. by 2010. Cambridge Econometrics attribute most of the emissions savings to the announcement effect. However, because these two effects interact in CE's model, it is not possible to apportion precise carbon savings to either effect in isolation.

Afghanistan

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support his Department is providing to the Afghan Government to ensure establishment of (a) civil administration, (b) police, (c) prisons and (d) judiciary in the Afghan province of Helmand; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: As stated by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence in his statement to the House on 26 January 2006, Official Report, column 1529, the UK presence in Helmand will be
	"working to ensure that we provide Afghanistan with a seamless package of democratic, political, developmental and military assistance in Helmand".
	Envisaged Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) led activity includes building capacity in governance, security, economic and social development and counter-narcotics fields. This will include support to the Governor of Helmand, training, mentoring and advice to the police and judicial authorities, and institutional development advice and mentoring for the counter-narcotics police. The Department for International Development (DFID) and HM Revenue and Customs will be pursuing other activities. Detailed planning continues and will be informed by the deployments to Lashkar Gah of FCO and DFID staff scheduled for March 2006. It will also be necessary to support capacity-building and institutional reform programmes in the central Ministries in Kabul, to ensure that Afghan Government programmes give suitable priority to Helmand.

Pingat Jasa Medal

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions (a) he and (b) his officials have had with the Royal British Legion on the wearing of the Pingat Jasa medal since September 2005.

Jack Straw: Neither I, nor my officials have had any discussions with the Royal British Legion on the wearing of the Pingat Jasa Malaysia medal.

Asylum/Immigration

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applicants have been granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK for each year since 1992, broken down by country of origin.

Tony McNulty: The latest published information on persons granted indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom by nationality is shown in the annual command paper "Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom,2004". Copies are available from the Library of the House and on the Home Office website:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Identity Cards/Verification

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 19 July 2005, Official Report, column 1610W, on identity cards, what level of risk has been identified through his Department's consultations on methods of fooling biometric readers; what has been learnt from his communication with other schemes that are using biometrics with identity cards; and what types of biometrics are used by those other schemes.

Andy Burnham: There is a broad consensus arising from reviews of reputable scientific literature, consultations with anti-fraud and biometric experts as well as communication with other biometrics schemes. It indicates that supervision of the enrolment process and the implementation of anti-spoofing technologies can counter the "spoofing" of a biometric which in any case is very difficult to achieve. Furthermore, these consultations also indicate that the use of multiple biometrics, as envisaged in the Identity Card Scheme, will provide further protection.
	As noted in the answer of 19 July 2005, the Identity Card Scheme will have a supervised enrolment process and the systems proposed by the various manufacturers during procurement, to meet the scheme requirements, will be rigorously tested to ensure risks from fake biometrics are adequately mitigated. Work with experts and other schemes to counter such threats will continue through this process. Such issues will also be independently scrutinised in order for the Scheme to achieve official security accreditation.
	The Scheme is consulting with biometric identity card and border control schemes that use, or propose to use, facial, fingerprint or iris biometrics as part of their operations.

Methylamphetamine

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the street names by which methamphetamine is known.

Paul Goggins: The report on methylamphetamine by the Advisory Council on the misuse of drugs published in November 2005 identifies a number of street names used for the drug including;
	Crystal Ice
	GlassTina
	Christine Meth
	Crank Crystal
	Nazi crank
	In Thailand the substance is sometimes called Yaba ("crazy drug"), and Shabu in Philippines.
	The ACMD methylamphetamine report can be downloaded from www.drugs.gov.uk via the ACMD web pages.

Prisons

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average daily sum spent by the Prison Service was on feeding adult (a) male and (b) female prisoners and (i) male and (ii) female prisoners in young offenders institutions in the last year for which figures are available.

Fiona Mactaggart: For 2004–05, the latest period for which data is available, the average public sector Prison Service daily food cost for adult males was £1.79.
	For male prisoners held in Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) the figure was £2.26. The average figure for all female prisoners was £2.16. It is not possible to separately identify food costs for female adult and female young offenders as they are held in the same establishments. The differentiation in costs between adult males and male prisoners in YOIs mainly reflects the general recognition that young people require more vitamins and protein to ensure healthy growth.

Work Permits

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many work permits were granted through the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme in each of the last 10 years.

Tony McNulty: The following table provides detail of the numbers of approvals under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) for each calendar year since the programme was launched in January 2002. These approvals allow individuals to apply either for leave to enter or leave to remain in the United Kingdom as highly skilled migrants.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2002 1,180 
			 2003 3,695 
			 2004 7,515 
			 2005 17,635 
			 Total 30,025 
		
	
	Note:
	This data is not provided under national statistics protocols. It has been derived from local management information and is therefore provisional and subject to change. Figures have been rounded up to the nearest 5.

Carbon Emissions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of the displacement of carbon emissions has been achieved through the introduction of energy efficiency measures in each year since 1997.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 23 January 2006
	An exercise has been carried for the household sector, for the period 1970 to 2001. The carbon changes are subject to a "decomposition analysis" into seven factors, two efficiency ones—reduced losses from the building envelope, and improved heating system efficiency—and five others which drive emissions both up and down—household numbers, level of energy service demand (e.g. for comfort, hot water), external temperature, the carbon intensity of grid electricity, and fuel switching by households. The changes are presented in terms of tonnes of carbon rather than shares of the net change. The results for the three decades are shown graphically, for each complete decade, to illustrate the longer term effects of the different factors, and eliminate the shorter term annual fluctuations. The table gives the annual changes from 1997 to 2001. The graph will be placed in the Library.
	Defra is currently completing a separate exercise to develop energy efficiency indicators for the household sector, and plans to use these, together with decomposition analysis, to report in more detail on the achievements of its various policies. Comparable work on indicators for the Industry and Services sectors is also under way but at a less advanced stage since energy use is much more complex, and energy efficiency technical measures more numerous, than in the household sector.
	
		Components of carbon emission change (MtC)
		
			 Between years Household growth Level of service External temperature Building envelope heat loss Heating system efficiency Electricity Supply Industry factors Other carbon factor changes Total 
		
		
			 1997–98 0.32 1.03 -0.35 -0.08 -0.24 -0.17 0.78 1.30 
			 1998–99 0.35 1.02 0.56 -0.08 -0.81 -0.10 -1.47 -0.51 
			 1999–2000 0.24 1.02 0.03 -0.67 -0.50 -0.13 0.47 0.46 
			 2000–01 0.25 1.06 0.82 -0.76 -0.59 +1.42 1.02 3.22

Packaging

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to reduce the amount of packaging being used for commercial products by companies in England.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 31 January 2006
	Two sets of regulations cover packaging in the UK; both of which encourage producers to minimise packaging. The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2005 are intended to increase the recovery and recycling of packaging waste. The amount of packaging waste producers have to recover and recycle is determined, in part, by the amount of packaging they handle. Therefore businesses can save money if they reduce the amount of packaging they use around their products.
	The Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2003 (as amended) place a number of requirements on all packaging placed on the market in the UK, including a requirement that packaging should be manufactured so that the packaging volume and weight are limited to the minimum adequate amount to maintain the necessary level of safety, hygiene and acceptance for the packed product and for the consumer.

Snares

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the National Farmers' Union on the use of snares.

Jim Knight: We have had discussions on this issue with a number of key stakeholders, including the National Farmers' Union, in connection with the current consultation on "Controlling the spread of bovine tuberculosis in cattle in high incidence areas in England: badger culling".
	I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 24 January 2006, Official Report, column 1960W.

Departmental Expenditure

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the annual expenditure on (a) fixtures and fittings, (b) general office expenses and (c) office equipment was of (i) her Department, (ii) each (A) non-departmental public body, (B) Executive agency and (C) other public body for which her Department is responsible in (1) Scotland, (2) Wales, (3) each of the English regions and (4) Northern Ireland in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005–06 in each case.

David Lammy: Expenditure by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on fixtures and fittings was £477,000 in 2002–03, £475,000 in 2003–04 and £335,000 in 2004–05; with planned expenditure of £100,000 in 2005–06.
	The term "general office expenses" is neither used as part of the Department's accounting procedures, nor those of the Royal Parks Agency.
	Annual expenditure by the Department on office equipment, including computers, was £938,000 in 2002–03, £958,000 in 2003–04, £1,100,000 in 2004–05; with planned expenditure of £350,000 in 2005–06.
	The Royal Parks Agency's accounts do not identify separately figures for fixtures and fittings and attempts to provide these would be at disproportionate cost.
	Annual expenditure by the Royal Parks Agency on office equipment, including computers, was £11,000 in both 2002–03 and 2003–04, £23,000 in 2004–05, with planned expenditure of £23,000 in 2005–06.
	Information requested in respect of the non-departmental public bodies could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Expenditure

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the expenditure on (a) buildings and (b) insurance of buildings and staff was of (i) her Department and (ii) each (A) non-departmental public body, (B) executive agency and (C) other public body for which her Department is responsible in (1) Scotland, (2) Wales, (3) each of the English regions and (4) Northern Ireland in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005–06 in each case.

David Lammy: Expenditure by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on buildings, including rent and building services was services was £7,040,000, in 2002–03, £7,488,000 in 2003 -04, and £7,311,000 in 2004–05; with planned expenditure of £7,300,000 in 2005–06.
	Expenditure by the Department on insurance of buildings was £76,200 in 2003–04 and £88,500 in 2004–05; with planned expenditure of £107,400 in 2005–06. Insurance costs for 2002–03 could be extracted only at disproportionate cost.
	Neither the Department, nor Royal Parks Agency, insure its staff.
	The Royal Parks Agency, did not incur expenditure on insurance of buildings until 2005–6, when there is forecast expenditure of £7,000.
	The Royal Parks Agency does not pay rent on the buildings for which it has responsibility. Its building services costs were: £6,941,000 in 2002–03, £7,738,000 in 2003–04, £7,574,000 in 2004–05 and with planned expenditure of £7,000,000 in 2005–06.
	Information requested in respect of the non-departmental public bodies could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Institutions (Assets)

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the impact of requirements on institutions for which she is responsible to maximise income on (a) appropriate and (b) sustainable use of their assets.

David Lammy: No overall assessment has been made, however the financial memoranda that apply to the Department's sponsored bodies stipulate that bodies should seek to optimise income from non-Exchequer sources in a way that does not conflict with their main functions.
	Historic Royal Palaces, for example, was set up by Royal Charter with the objective
	"to administer, conserve, renovate, repair, maintain and improve the Palaces to a high standard consistent with their status as buildings of Royal, historic and architectural importance".
	It is free to generate and optimise income within the boundaries set out in its Royal Charter, and to use that income to further its historical, cultural and educational objectives. The Secretary of State has given no directions to Historic Royal Palaces to maximise the income and commercial activity outside of their Charter obligations.
	The Public Accounts Committee, which considered the issue of income and commercial activities in its thirty-third report (Income generated by the museums and galleries), concluded that the Department's sponsored museums and galleries should set targets for income growth, with an assessment of the risks. The Department is currently finalising three-year funding agreements with the museums and galleries that will set targets for income generation consistent with delivery of their wider objectives.

Benzodiazepine

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the provision of dedicated NHS benzodiazepine withdrawal clinics.

Caroline Flint: People with dependence on benzodiazepines can access services in primary and secondary care. In primary care, counselling, advice and/or psychological therapy is available, and secondary care services are also available, including specialised mental health services and specialised drug services. While there are some specialist clinics in parts of England, NHS services are commonly provided on the basis of clinical need rather than the causes of need per se. Support for benzodiazepine withdrawal can be provided in a range of settings.
	In 2005, responding to advice from professionals in the substance misuse field, and consistent with recommendations made in "Drug misuse and dependence—guidelines on clinical management" (1999), 1 the Department amended prescribing regulation to allow diazepam to be dispensed in instalments for the treatment of drug addiction—to assist doctors in prescribing benzodiazepines more safely.
	1 Guidelines on Clinical Management—Department of Health, The Scottish Office Department of Health, Welsh Office Department of Health and Social Services, Northern Ireland (1999) The Stationery Office.

Dentistry

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the population was registered with an NHS dentist in (a) England, (b) London, (c) the London borough of Hillingdon and (d) Uxbridge constituency in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: The information available is shown in the tables. Information on people registered with a national health service dentist in the Uxbridge constituency is not provided as population data is not available at this level.
	The drop in registrations between September 1997 and September 1998 is mostly attributable to the reduction in re-registration period from two years to 15 months.
	
		Estimated percentage of the population registered in general dental services (GDS) and personal dental services (PDS) as at 30 September each year
		
			 Population (percentage) 
		
		
			 England  
			 1997 56 
			 1998 49 
			 1999 49 
			 2000 50 
			 2001 49 
			 2002 49 
			 2003 49 
			 2004 47 
			 2005 48 
			   
			 London  
			 1997 52 
			 1998 43 
			 1999 42 
			 2000 42 
			 2001 42 
			 2002 41 
			 2003 42 
			 2004 40 
			 2005 42 
			   
			 London borough of Hillingdon 
			 1997 59 
			 1998 50 
			 1999 49 
			 2000 50 
			 2001 46 
			 2002 47 
			 2003 44 
			 2004 43 
			 2005 44 
		
	
	Source:
	NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre

Dentistry

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS (a) dentists and (b) patients were registered in Welwyn, Hatfield in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The number of national health service dentists and number of patients registered in Welwyn Hatfield Primary Care Trust as at 30 September in each year specified, are provided in the table.
	
		
			  Dentists Registrations 
		
		
			 1997 50 57,514 
			 1998 52 50,733 
			 1999 47 50,387 
			 2000 51 50,442 
			 2001 52 52,110 
			 2002 55 50,061 
			 2003 64 49,123 
			 2004 69 49,106 
			 2005 68 50,007 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Data includes General Dental Services (GDS) and Personal Dental Services (PDS) registrations/PDS patients seen (counts patients seen in the past 15 months for some PDS schemes).
	2. The drop in registrations between September 1997 and September 1998 is mostly attributable to the reduction in re-registration period from two years to 15 months.
	Source:
	Dental Practice Board

Drug Prescribing

Bob Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the annual level of prescribing of (a) carmustie implants and (b) temozolomide outside the context of clinical trials was in the last three years for which figures are available, broken down by (i) strategic health authority and (ii) primary care trust.

Jane Kennedy: The estimated cost of temozolomide and carmustine dispensed in hospitals and in the community (primary care) in England over the last three financial years is shown in the table.
	A separate figure for carmustine implants is not provided due to contractual restrictions on how data on drugs issued in hospitals can be used. The figure includes all preparations of carmustine.
	
		Estimated cost of temozolomide and carmustine dispensed in hospitals and in the community—England
		
			 Cost (£000) 
			  2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Temozolomide
			 Dispensed in hospitals 2,758.9 3,126.9 4,336.9 
			 Dispensed in the community 38.7 — 4.0 
			 Total 2,797.6 3,126.9 4,340.9 
			 
			 Carmustine
			 Dispensed in hospitals 55.1 68.6 121.3 
			 Dispensed in the community — — — 
			 Total 55.1 68.6 121.3 
		
	
	Source:
	IMS Health (2005) and PCA data
	The usage of temozolomide in primary care is negligible and carmustine is not used at all in primary care. Therefore, since the primary care usage is so low, sub-national data cannot be provided for patient confidentiality reasons.
	Usage of carmustine in hospitals is low. Data on carmustine at a sub-national level is not provided due to contractual restrictions.
	Data for temzolomide at cancer network level was published by the Department as part of the review undertaken by the National Cancer director on the variations in usage of cancer drugs appraised by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. The report is available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/08/38/95/04083895.pdf.
	Data on drugs issued in hospitals is not available at primary care trust level.

Mental Health Services

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment she has made of the level of funding for mental health services in (a) Cambridgeshire and (b) Peterborough.

Rosie Winterton: The Department assesses annually the investment in mental health services published in the national survey of mental health services. The report details the level of investment by strategic health authorities (SHAs) in adult mental health services and compares it with results reported in previous years. The latest national survey for 2004–05 showed Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire SHAs7 planned investment in mental health services per head of weighted working age population was £169.551 million. This is an increase of £27.283 million on the previous year.
	The analysis in the report is derived from the detailed finance mapping exercise co-ordinated by local implementation teams as part of the regular adult mental health review process undertaken each autumn.
	A copy of the "National Survey of Investment in Mental Health Services 2004–05" s available at the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/11/52/96/04115296.pdf or by contacting:
	DH Publications Orderline
	PO Box 777
	London
	SE1 6XH
	Tel: 0870 155 54 55

Mobile Phone Masts

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been evaluated by her Department into the health effects of non-thermal pulsed microwave radiation associated with mobile telephone masts.

Caroline Flint: The independent expert group on mobile phones (IEGMP), under Sir William Stewart produced the Stewart Report in May 2000 and its principal conclusion in relation to exposures to radiofrequency radiation (RF) from base stations (masts) was that
	"the balance of evidence indicates that there is no general risk to the health of people living near to base stations on the basis that exposures are expected to be small fractions of the guidelines."
	A more recent report, 'Mobile Phones and Health 2004', reviewed measurements of exposures to radiofrequency radiation from masts (or base stations) made by Ofcom and by National Radiological Protection Board and noted that they were consistent with those available at the time of the Stewart Report 2000. These reports are available on the Health Protection Agency's website at www.hpa.org.uk/radiation
	It had been noted that concern had been expressed about exposures to pulsed fields. However, a 'Review of Scientific Evidence for Limiting Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields' (0–300 GHz) was published in 2004 (Docs NRPB Vol. 15 No. 3 2004) in support of its 'Advice to Government on Exposure Guidelines for EMFs'. This review included a consideration of possible biological effects of exposure to pulsed radiofrequency fields. Overall, no convincing and consistent evidence in support of low-level pulsed fields having detrimental effects was found.

Mobile Phone Masts

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans the Government have to undertake research into the health effects of non-thermal pulsed radiation associated with mobile telephone masts;
	(2)  whether her Department has (a) conducted and (b) commissioned research into the effects of non-thermal pulsed radiation associated with mobile telephone masts.

Caroline Flint: Mobile phone base stations and handsets comply with national and international guidelines that were introduced to prevent thermal effects from exposure to radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF). The guidelines have been based on extensive scientific reviews by the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and, in this country, the Health Protection Agency (HPA). This includes consideration of non-thermal effects in tissues and a variety of pulsed signals at the levels normally encountered from mobile phone technology in use today. Independent measurements near base stations (masts) have demonstrated that RF exposures are very much lower than the guidelines (www.ofcom.org.uk).
	In response to recommendations for continuing research, the mobile telecommunications and health research (MTHR) programme, jointly funded by Government and industry, has supported about 30 individual studies to investigate the potential health effects of RF exposures from mobile phone technology. A description of the programme and the individual studies is available on its website at www.mthr.org.uk The studies in the MTHR programme concentrate largely on the exposures from the mobile phone handsets because these exposures are considerably higher than those from base stations.
	Worldwide research is evaluated periodically by the WHO and the HPA's radiation protection division. The report, 'Mobile Phones and Health 2004', available on the HPA's website at www.hpa.org.uk/radiation, noted that there are continuing concerns about the impact of base stations on health and well-being
	"despite the current evidence which shows that exposures of individuals are likely to be only a small fraction of those from phones".
	The report recommended
	"studies focused on ascertaining the exposure of people to RF fields".
	In line with this recommendation, the MTHR programme is supporting a number of studies in relation to base stations.

NHS Finance

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the current overall national financial deficit of the NHS is; what the deficit is of each (a) strategic health authority and (b) primary care trust which has one; and what percentage of debt is (i) historical and (ii) recurring in each case;
	(2)  what account she has taken of the unexpected costs incurred by primary care trusts in implementing the Government's required changes to GP contracts and out of hour services in assessing the overall national NHS deficit; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what guidance she has issued to primary care trusts in the priority they should give to (a) repayment of debt and (b) delivery of services;
	(4)  what assessment she has made of the effects of (a) short-term financial pressures on primary care trusts (PCTs) and (b) Government requirements on PCTs to address financial deficits on (i) patients and (ii) healthcare services; and if she will make a statement;
	(5)  to what timescale a primary care trust in a financially balanced recurrent expenditure position but with an accrued historic budget deficit is required to repay that historic element.

Jane Kennedy: The net deficit for 2004–05 across the national health service was £256 million, which includes the financial outturn of NHS Foundation Trusts (NHSFTs). The forecast outturn position for 2005–06, as submitted by NHS organisations at the mid-year point, is a net deficit of around £620 million, excluding NHSFTs. The 2004–05 financial position and the 2005–06 forecast month six position for NHS organisations, excluding foundation trusts is available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Publications /PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/PublicationsPolicyAnd GuidanceArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4119175&chk= JuzTDZ.
	Overspending and underspending by NHS bodies is carried into the following year, as part of the carry forward regime. This is operated by the Department at strategic health authority level (SHA), and SHAs have the authority to determine how the regime operates for organisations within their health economy. For this reason we do not know how much of the carry forward was applied to individual organisations, so it is not possible to distinguish between historical and recurring deficits for primary care trusts (PCTs) and SHAs. For the purposes of comparison, the turnover and financial position for all SHAs and PCTs for each of the last two years, 2003–04 and 2004–05 has been placed in the Library.
	All NHS Trusts and PCTs should break even every year. Where an organisation has a historic deficit, the SHA can provide financial support to the organisations to allow them more time to break even whilst the recovery plan is implemented. SHAs have the responsibility for ensuring the organisations across its area are in financial balance every year, so to provide planned support to one organisation requires other NHS organisations within the health economy to underspend over the same period. Any such arrangements would have to be subject to the agreement of local providers, commissioners and the managing SHA.
	All NHS organisations have minimum standards of quality they must deliver, including targets for maximum waiting times. These are dramatically better than the standards of the NHS in the past and there can be no trade-off between these quality standards and removing deficits. All areas of the country have seen dramatic improvements in care, and all areas of the country will continue to see improvements. Going further in a specific hospital cannot be achieved if it is unaffordable. This would, in effect, be one part of the NHS spending the money of another part of the NHS to deliver a better service, which is unfair on the other parts of the country.
	The Department allocated PCTs £4.5 billion through primary medical services (PMEDS) funding arrangements in 2005–06, contributing towards the implementation of new general medical services (GMS) contract arrangements including out of hours and quality outcome framework (QOF) services for both GMS and personal medical services.
	The latest available data, which is still being validated, is for 2004–05. This data indicates that PCTs are having to manage overspends on allocations around the quality outcome framework (£200 million) and out of hours (£100 million). This has been offset by lower than expecting growth in other areas, such as hospital elective activity and prescribing expenditure.
	The NHS has received record increases in funding, and the majority of PCTs are delivering improved services as well as living within their budget. Where organisations are failing to do this it is due to poor management, so there is no need to sacrifice the delivery of the required standards and targets to deliver financial balance.

NHS Financial Deficits

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the year-end financial deficits of (a) Buckinghamshire Mental Health NHS Trust, (b) East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust, (c) Medway NHS Trust, (d) Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust, (e) Royal West Sussex NHS Trust and (f) Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust were in (i) 2002–03, (ii) 2003–04 and (iii) 2004–05; whether trusts which have failed to achieve breakeven or a surplus in three consecutive financial years are considered by her Department to have failed in their duty laid out in section 10 of the NHS and Community Care Act 1990; what measures are put in place when a trust fails to achieve the duty laid out in section 10 of the 1990 Act; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 30 January 2006
	The year-end surplus/deficit position for the years 2002–03 through 2004–05 for the trusts is shown in the table.
	
		
			  £000 
			  Final accounts surplus/(deficit) 
			 Organisation name 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Buckinghamshire Mental Health NHS Trust (916) (1,689) (1,049) 
			 East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust (1,450) (1,787) (4,983) 
			 Medway NHS Trust (967) 2,372 (279) 
			 Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Trust (24,784) (1,968) (946) 
			 The Royal West Sussex NHS Trust (1,349) (3,572) (15,483) 
			 Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust 2 (744) (3,490) 
		
	
	The NHS and Community Care Act 1990 sets out the breakeven duty for national health service trusts as a requirement to breakeven "taking one financial year with another".
	In agreement with the Audit Commission and other audit bodies, this has been clarified by the NHS Finance Manual as a requirement to breakeven over a three-year period, starting from first year of deficit. This period can be extended by agreement with the local strategic health authority (SHA) for up to five years.
	Furthermore, the accumulated deficit at the end of the financial year must be material for the trust to be deemed to have failed to breakeven in that year. Material has been clarified as meaning greater than 0.5 per cent. of turnover.
	Using these criteria, Medway NHS Trust has achieved its breakeven duty in 2003–04 and 2004–05. Similarly, Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust achieved its breakeven duty in 2002–03 and 2003–04; its three-year breakeven duty period therefore commenced in 2004–05.
	The remaining four trusts have all agreed extended five-year recovery terms with their SHAs, and therefore none are in breach of their statutory duty to break-even "taking one year with another".
	Compliance with the statutory duty to breakeven is inextricably linked to improving financial performance. Various measures are taken to improve this, the most recent being the announcement of the turnaround teams. Details of the turnaround team process, and the organisations covered is available on the Department' website at: www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot?04/12/71/88/04127188.pdf.

Parliamentary Questions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to answer questions (a) 28223 tabled on 14 November 2005 and (b) 29705 tabled on 11 November 2005 by the hon. Member for Yeovil.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 2 February 2006, Official Report, columns 718–19W, and to the reply given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Mr. Byrne) on 19 December 2005, Official Report, column 2636W.

Retinal Screening

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will make support available for the use of fundus cameras in opticians practices to provide convenient diabetes retinopathy screening for patients; and if she will make a statement

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 31 January 2006
	Capital funding of £27 million has been made available to buy digital cameras and related equipment for retinal screening. £5 million has been made available in 2003–04, £9.6 million in 2004–05 and £12.4 million in 2005–06. The capital has been apportioned on a population basis through strategic health authorities.
	Primary care trusts are responsible for implementing diabetic retinopathy screening to national standards as set out in "Improvement, Expansion and Reform: the next three years", the planning and performance framework for 2003 to 2006 and diabetes national service framework delivery strategy. It is for local health services to decide how they want the programme to be delivered locally. At national level optometrists have played an important role on the national diabetic retinopathy screening project advisory group set up to steer the development of the programme.

Smoking

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the average age at which people start smoking in England.

Caroline Flint: Data on smoking is available from the general household survey. We are able to provide estimates for 2003, of the average age at which people started smoking in England, using the results of the general household survey 2003. The raw data required to calculate the average at which people start smoking regularly is available to us up to 2003.
	The general household survey 2004 has recently been released (December 15 2005) and we are able to provide estimates of the age range people started smoking in England for 2004. The sample population for this survey is adults aged 16 and over.
	The available data for 2003 (average age) and 2004 (age ranges) is shown in the table.
	
		Average age started smoking regularly by sex, 2003, England
		
			  Years 
		
		
			 Male 16.7 
			 Female 17.6 
			 Total 17.1 
		
	
	Source:
	General Household Survey 2003. Office for National Statistics
	
		Age started smoking regularly by sex: England 2004Persons aged 16 and over who had ever smoked regularly
		
			 Percentage 
			 Age started smoking regularly Men Women All persons 
		
		
			 Under 16 42 35 38 
			 16–17 26 28 27 
			 18–19 16 18 17 
			 20–24 11 12 11 
			 25 and over 5 7 6 
			 Weighted base (000's) = 100 per cent. 9,113 8,234 17,347 
			 Unweighted sample 3,195 2,948 6,143 
		
	
	Source:
	General Household Survey 2003. Office for National Statistics
	Further information on the General Household Survey is available at: www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=5756.